Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, Dr. Franks.
We are in the middle of an exercise here. Let us be clear that, the day before yesterday, we got information on five of the 18 bills that had been put before the House of Commons and that were making their way through the legislative process. That means that there was information. What would those bills cost, what were the estimated costs?
Yesterday, we got a catalogue. It is spring, but instead of getting the Sears catalogue, we got the Harper catalogue. It contained information, but it was very vague, very sketchy. Someone said earlier that the provinces are going to see their costs go up. There will be a heavy cost, but we do not know how heavy and we cannot get the slightest idea of the extent. We talked about it this morning and I asked some questions along those lines in connection with some bills.
So here we are with the House, through the Speaker, ordering the government to provide documents so that we as elected representatives and lawmakers can do our work. You have heard all the rhetoric and you know how it has all unfolded.
Maybe it is a little utopian on my part, and that's fine because today's utopia is tomorrow's reality, as they say. Could you shed some more light on this for us? What do we have to do to make sure, right from the time a bill is first introduced, that we know how much it is going to cost and that the information comes from the government? When we as opposition MPs introduce private member's bills, we have to get a minister's consent if costs are involved. We know the process. If we do not have the minister's support, there is no point in debating the bill as it is going to die sooner or later. The government must do the same thing, in my humble opinion. Can you shed some light on that for us?